The Best Non-Fiction Books on the History of Witchcraft and the Occult

Witchcraft and Black Magic – By Montague Summers

In this detailed handbook, Summers (a well-known master of the occult) explores all things related to witchcraft, including its origins and history, the different shapes and forms of magic, magic at Cambridge and Oxford, and much more.

The Book of Black Magic and Pacts – By Arthur E. Waite

The Book of Black Magic and Pacts is an exhaustive guide to the occult, containing a large number of magical spells and occult writings taken from a variety of sources. It constitutes one of the greatest overviews of occultism by one of the most influential figures in Western occultism.

The History of Witchcraft and Demonology – By Montague Summers

This 1926 work by Montague Summers is a definitive scholarly account of the history of witchcraft and demonology. Summers explores a general overview of the subject ‘as old and wide as the world’ itself, taking a particular focus on witches, demons, and modern spiritism.

The Occult Sciences – By Arthur E. Waite

A Compendium of Transcendental Doctrine and Experiment

A. E. Waite’s The Occult Sciences contains an extensive guide to all things occult, dealing with magical practices, spiritualism, mesmerism, theosophy, necromancy, and much more. Waite focuses on White and Black magic, secret sciences and even life beyond the grave.

The Demonism of the Ages – By J.M. Peebles

Spirit Obsessions so common in Spiritism, Oriental and Occidental Occultism

Originally published in 1905, this volume contains a fascinating history of demonology and possessions, exploring cases from Ancient Greece to nineteenth-century Korea and beyond.

Magic, White and Black – By Franz Hartmann

The Science of Finite and Infinite Life – Containing Practical Hints for Students of Occultism.

In this book, Hartmann takes a unique approach on the subject, maintaining that ‘magic’ is not a supernatural concept outside of the realms of science or nature, but that it is the undeniable force behind all things responsible for the growth of a seed into a tree or a child into a man.

Irish Witchcraft and Demonology – By John D. Seymore

St. John Seymour’s infamous exploration of witchcraft and demonology in Ireland. Seymour looks at famous Irish witches, including Dame Alice Kyteler, as well as many other trials concerning witchcraft that were taken to a court of law during the seventeenth century.

A Popular History of Witchcraft – By Montague Summers

This volume offers an overview of the history of witchcraft, from a master of the occult Montague Summers, written over a decade after his landslide work A History of Witchcraft and Demonology. It looks at the general practices and history of Witchcraft, the mischief of witches, covens and much more.

Demonology and Witchcraft – By Walter Scott

First published in 1830, Demonology and Witchcraft, houses a series of letters written by Sir Walter Scott addressed to J.G. Lockhart, on the topic of demonology and witchcraft. In the letters, Scott outlines and explains his extensive knowledge of the subject.